Former Sen. Joe Manchin has endorsed Republican Susan Collins over her progressive Democratic challenger in Maine, a move that underscores the widening rift between centrist and far-left factions competing for control of the Senate.
Manchin, who left the Democratic Party in May 2024 to register as an independent, announced his support for Collins during a CNBC appearance Monday. The endorsement puts a former Democratic senator squarely behind a Republican incumbent in one of the most closely watched Senate races of the 2026 cycle, and directly against Troy Jackson, the progressive Democrat who wants Collins's seat.
It is not a subtle signal. Manchin framed the race as a fight for the Senate's identity, warning that losing Collins would strip the chamber of a lawmaker willing to work across the aisle.
The Hill reported Manchin's remarks on CNBC, where the former West Virginia senator made his case in personal terms:
"You lose the Susan Collinses of the Senate, you're losing the soul of the Senate, basically, a person you can talk to, who wants to do the right thing all of the time. Now, everybody says, 'Oh, she doesn't do this, doesn't speak up.' Susan is always in there, always in the trenches."
Collins responded with a written statement calling Manchin "a dear friend and trusted colleague." She pointed to a list of bipartisan accomplishments the two shared, helping end government shutdowns, negotiating the Electoral Count Act, delivering COVID relief, and passing the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a sweeping infrastructure spending bill.
"From helping end government shutdowns and negotiating the Electoral Count Act to delivering COVID relief and historic investments in our nation's infrastructure, we have shown what is possible when Republicans and Democrats work together to find common ground and get things done. I am honored to have his support."
The two senators also worked together on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022, which established a red-flag program, a system allowing courts to temporarily remove firearms from individuals deemed a danger, aimed at countering gun violence.
Manchin's endorsement is as much a rejection of Jackson as it is a vote of confidence in Collins. Jackson supports Medicare for All and dismantling Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency responsible for interior immigration enforcement. He has drawn backing from democratic socialists, though he does not identify as one himself.
That distinction did not seem to matter much to Manchin. In an interview last month on CBS's "Face the Nation," host Margaret Brennan asked whether he could support a candidate aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America. Manchin's answer was blunt:
"No way, my God, no."
When Brennan pressed, "Even if they have some good ideas?", Manchin did not budge:
"I'll support the good ideas, but how could you support some of the crazy stuff they're for? Have you seen their platform?"
Manchin did not specify which platform planks he found objectionable, but the context was clear enough. A candidate running on abolishing ICE and nationalizing health insurance sits well outside the political ground Manchin occupied during his Senate career, and well outside where most voters in a general election tend to land.
The Maine race has already produced sharp exchanges beyond the usual policy debates. Collins has drawn a contrast with Jackson over temperament and personal conduct, a line of attack that goes to character rather than ideology.
That dynamic intensified after a 1988 assault report involving Jackson resurfaced. Collins publicly stated that her challenger "struggles to control his temper," adding a personal dimension to a contest already defined by ideological distance.
Democrats, for their part, have tried to make Collins's past votes a liability. Her 2018 vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh remains a focal point for progressive groups working to unseat her in November.
Jackson was not the original Democratic nominee. Graham Platner, who had secured support from democratic socialists, dropped his bid before Jackson replaced him at the top of the ticket. The circumstances of Platner's departure are not fully detailed, though Maine Democrats quietly pulled Platner from a Labor Day rally stage amid controversy.
The endorsement did not come out of nowhere. Manchin spent years as the most visible Democratic holdout against the party's leftward drift. He frequently clashed with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont over the size of President Biden's Build Back Better agenda, arguing that the massive spending package would fuel inflation. Events proved him right on that score.
By May 2024, Manchin had seen enough. He left the Democratic Party entirely, re-registering as an independent. His willingness to now endorse a Republican over a Democrat, and to do so publicly, on national television, marks the logical endpoint of a break that began years earlier.
For Collins, the endorsement carries real value. It signals to independent and moderate voters in Maine that her brand of Republicanism can attract support from across the aisle. In a state where independents often decide close races, a nod from Manchin gives Collins a credibility marker that no amount of campaign spending can replicate.
The broader Senate landscape adds urgency. Republicans face headwinds in several key battleground races heading into the fall, making every incumbent seat a priority hold for the GOP.
For Jackson, the Manchin endorsement is a problem that goes beyond one lost surrogate. It reinforces the argument that his platform sits too far left for a general electorate, and that even members of his own broader political coalition would rather back the Republican than sign on to Medicare for All and the abolition of ICE.
When a former Democratic senator looks at his party's nominee and says "no way, my God, no," the party has a message problem that no amount of grassroots energy can paper over.
